Tips & Trick For Mac keyboard shortcuts

The three most important keys on your Mac can be found to the left and right of the spacebar (for right and left handed use). Unfortunately these three keys seem to cause more confusion than any others.

Where and what is the option key!
There is a great deal of confusion over what Apple often calls the Option key. If you are using a UK keyboard chances are this is called the Alt key so it's no wonder most people don't know where it is.

The Alt (aka the Option key) can be found between Control and Command.

What's the Command key? I hear you ask...
The Command key has a legacy that leads to confusion. Many will refer to it as the Apple key, because in the past there used to be an Apple logo on it. The logo you will definitely find on this key looks like a squiggly square (?). It was designed by Susan Kare for the original iMac (and based on the Scandinavian icon for places of interest).

The Command (cmd) key works in a similar way to the Control key on a PC. On a Mac you use the Command key where on a PC you would use Control (or Ctrl). E.g:

Command-B = Bold

Command-I = Italic

Command-Z = Undo

Command-Q = Quit

Command-W = Close window

Best Mac keyboards

So if you are wondering how to copy and paste on a Mac...
Command-C = Copy

Command-X = Cut

Command-V = Paste

What does the Control key do then?
The most common use of Control is to mimic the right click on a mouse or when using the mouse pad (since some Apple mouse don't have the right click option). However, there are many more uses for Control when used with other key combinations.